Search Results for: playing hooky

Even though we live an hour shy of the shore, I rarely go. I don’t know anything about traffic patterns, parking or beach badges. Thank goodness for “phone a friend”. Just like the game show “Who wants to be a Millionaire”, if you don’t have an answer, you call someone who does.

The previous days had been stormy and brutally humid. The weather was breaking and the shore seemed like an ideal place to take our house guest from Ohio. Over dinner, as we were finalizing our day trip, I turned to husband and said: “why don’t you join us?” Then asked Jessie if she wanted to play hooky too. Hooky is one of her favorite words. It means fun is to be had.

The timing was right, the husband was game. As for Jess, one trait people with Angelman Syndrome have is impulsivity. Sometimes it’s good to break the routine. Didn’t have to ask her twice, she was in.

The next morning we headed for Belmar. At the time, we didn’t realize we chose the best day. The skies were clear and it wasn’t very crowded. While husband went to get the badges, I called a rental company. Within seven minutes, we had umbrellas and lounge chairs delivered and set up. It was like hotel service but without the hotel!

Even though we were slathered in sunscreen, the shade from the umbrella was welcome. Jess planted herself in the sand and was happy as a wave that dances on the sea. I was going to say “happy as a clam”, but how do we really know if clams are happy? The ones I’ve known ended up in soup or at a clam shack…

We were not lacking for entertainment. A surf school was in front of us, on the other side of the pier is a relatively new bird sanctuary. Now that they have their own private space, rare birds are making an appearance.

Good eats were a short stretch down the beach. Specifically, Playa Bowls, a refreshing alternative to fast food.

For fear of getting too much sun, we left around noon. It was too early to head home, so we drove through a few shore towns before ending up at the Seaside boardwalk for lunch. None of us had walking shoes, so we did the tourist thing, we rented a surrey.

With the sky so blue, we couldn’t help but sing the song from Oklahoma,

All the world ‘ll fly in a flurry
When I take you out in the surrey
When I take you out in the surrey
With the fringe on top…

When it was time to head home, we realized that we had been given a gift, time together on a beautiful summer day. It’s amazing how only nine hours felt like a weeks vacation. It doesn’t get better than that!